While increasingly unfettered mobility and communication is a normal part of modern life, it is desirable for those in positions of authority to monitor the travels and communications of those for whom they are responsible. Many social groups require the imposition of such mobility and communication oversight and control, requiring that a level of authority be established and maintained between group members, for example the authority of a parent over a son or daughter within a family, the authority of an employer over an employee in a work environment, and the authority of a teacher over a student at a school.
In consideration of safety or the law, teachers or parents may want children for whom they are responsible to avoid certain locations or adhere to certain pre-defined routes on their way to and from school or other destinations. Employers, in an effort to enhance worker productivity, may want to enforce schedules defining where employees should be at particular times during the work day. Persons in a position of authority may want those for whom they are responsible to avoid having communications such as phone conversations or data transmissions at certain times and may prefer that those for whom they are responsible avoid communication entirely with certain people or entities. Often times however, those in a position of authority are not certain what type of travel or communication is acceptable, since it is not feasible for one person to vet each conceivable travel destination, communication type, or entity who may communicate with those for whom they are responsible.
The growing ubiquity of locatable mobile devices such as mobile telephones, cellular-enabled personal computers and GPS systems potentially provides those in positions of authority with at least the means to locate someone over whom they maintain authority. There further exist means for tracking the communications of mobile and non-mobile devices. However, location and communication information alone is not always sufficient for one to determine whether those under his or her control are acting acceptably or within a prescribed standard. It would be desirable to provide an effective method for monitoring location and communication activities of a user which provides an indication of the acceptability of the user's location and communication activities.